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F. A. 0. ZABEL. APPARATUS FOR GOPYING WRITINGS.

No. 401,402. Patented Apr. 16. 1889.

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F. A. O. ZABEL. APPARATUS FOR COPYING WRITINGS. No. 401,402. PatentedApr. 16, 1889.

UNITED STATES PATENT @rrrcn,

FRANZ ALBERT CARL ZABEL, OF INGOLSTADT, ASSIGNOR TO EULNER & LORENZ, OFHALLE-ON-THE-SAALE, PRUSSIA, GERMANY.

APPARATUS FOR COPYING WRITINGS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 401,402, dated April16, 1889. Application filed May 1, 1885. Serial No. 164,990. (No model.)Patented in Germany January 5, 1881, No- 14,775.

To (1025 whom it may concern:

Be itknown that I, FRANZ ALBERT CARL ZABEL, of the town of Ingolstadt,in the Ger man Empire, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin lllanifold- Copying Apparatus, (for which a German patent was grantedto me bearing date the 5th day of January, 1881, No. 14,775,) of whichthe following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in manifold-copying apparatus forcopying writing, drawings, and printed and other matter, the object orwhich said invention is to enable those otherwise unacquainted with theart to readily produce perfect indelible copies of writin gs, drawings,and printed or other matter in printing-ink and without the aid of expensive presses.

In order to carry my said invention int-o eifect I employ a lithographicstone, such as is used in the well-known lithographic pro cess, andprovide this said lithographic stone with such devices, as subsequentlydescribed, that any person of ordinary intellect can readily manipulatethe same and produce perfect copies of the matter to be reproduced; orinstead of employing alithographic stone a zinc plate, as used in thezincographic process, can be employed; but in order to make my saidinvention perfectly clear and distinct I will only describe the samewith reference to the lithographic process, it being understood thatzinc plates can be substituted for stone without departing from thetenor of my invention.

The main feature of my said invention is the transfer from the graphicsurface by means of an elastic sheet which is composed of a backing ofoil-cloth, stout canvas, paper, or other suitable material faced orcovered with a thin layer of elastic material, such as is employed formaking printers rollers, of

india-rubber, or an appropriate substitute for the same. This said sheetof elastic material is provided on both of its long edges with rails ofsheet metal, which said metal so folded or bent as to firmly embrace theedges of the said elastic sheet, while the upper and lower edges areleft free, so that the said elastic or flexible sheet can readily adaptitself to the surface of the stone or other material provided with orcontaining the matter to be reproduced. Although this said elastic orflexible sheet can be employed without being attached to the stone,plate, or other matter, still I have found it in the most casespreferable to attach the same in such manner that the same can bereadily applied to the stone or plate, and so that the said elastic orflexible sheet can be repeatedly brought to bear on precisely the samespot or part or parts of the said stone or plate. For this purpose Iattach a rail of suitable form to one of the sheetmetal rails fixed tothe said elastic or flexible plate, which said rail is at the one endprovided with a pointed tip or center which fits into a suitable bearingfixed to the lithographic stone or zincographic plate, and at the otherend with a corresponding conical cavity or recess for receiving thepoint or tip of a screw working in' a suitable bearing attached to theother end of the said stone or plate. It will be evident that when theelastic or flexible plate is so mounted the same will al ways come intocontact with precisely the same part of the stone, and thus insureperfect manifold copies from the same original. In order to be able toproduce these said copies it is necessary to employ special rollers,which also form a part of my said invention. In ordinary lithography theink must be applied in a very thin layer on the stone or the same wouldbe squeezed or pressed out in passing through the press, and thusproduce imperfect prints; but according to my invention a thick layer ofink can be applied which is not absorbed by the elastic or flexiblesheet in one operation, so that several transfers from the stone to theelastic plate can be carried out without reinking the said stone; and inorder to be able to apply this said thick layer of ink I employ a woodenroller or cylinder with fixed or movable handles with a coating of aboutfive millimeters or one-fifth inch in thickness of elastic mass-such asis generally employed for inking-rollers in printing-officeswhich saidlayer of elastic material is covered with athin india-rubber cylinder.Rollers made on this system will give off a much thicker layer of inkand much quicker than the rollers generally used by lithographers, asthe said rollers are much moreelastic than when made of leather orentirely of india-rubber. For giving the requisite p'ressure fortransferring the original from the stone to the elastic sheet and fromthe said elastic or flexible sheet to paper, I employ a handroller, ofwood, and clad with felt, cloth, or other suitable material.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved manifold-copying apparatuswith the plate of elastic or flexible material turned half-back and heldstraight. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the. inking-roller, partlybroken away to show the internal construction. Fig. 3 is an end view ofthe roller shown in Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a side elevation of thepressure-roller, partly broken away to show the in ternal construction.Fig. 5 is an end view of the same. Fig. 6 is an elevation of the rail ofangle iron attached to the lithographic stone and carrying the bearingsfor the point of the rod attached to the flexible or elastic sheet andthe screw for holding the opposite end of the same. Fig. 7 is a top planview of the same. Fig. 8 is an end elevation of the parts shown in Fig.6. Fig. 9 is an elevation, and Fig-10 a top view, of the rail attachedto the elastic or flexible plate, in the position as represented in Fig.1.

a is a lithographic stone; 1), a sheet of elastic or flexible material.

- the same.

e is the rail attached to the said sheet and backing and to the lowersheetmetal stiffening-rail, f

f f are two rails of sheet metal bent over so as to firmly embrace theedges of the elastic or flexible sheet I) c.

p is a conical cavity in the one end of e, to receive the point of athumb or other screw, Z.

s is the pointed tip of the rail 6, which is carried in a suitablebearing, fixed to the angular rail w of the stone at.

'w is a rail of angle-iron or other suitable material, which is fixed inappropriate manner to the lithographic stone a, and is provided with thebearings k k, of which his provided with a threaded boring to receive asuitable thumb-screw, while 70' is provided with a conical cavity orrecess to receive the tip or point 8 of the rail e.

d, Figs. 4 and-5, is the wooden cylinder of the pressure-roller; d,thefelt or cloth covering to the same, and g the handle to the said roller.

z, Figs. 2 and 3, is the wooden cylinder of the inking-roller; m, thecovering of the same of elastic mass or composition; h, the externalcylinder or cover of india-rubbe1x g is one of the handles of theroller.

In order that my invention may be fully understood, I will proceed todescribe the method in detail.

The matter to be printed or reproduced is written or drawn on alithographic stone with lithographic crayon or ink, in like manner aswriting or drawing on paperi. e., not in reverse style-and the stonetreated in like manner, as is customary in the ordinary lithographicprocess, and then inked. A thin sheet of elastic material, 1), such asis used for making printers rollers, india-rubber, or substitute for thesame, which said thin sheet of elastic material is provided with a layerof paper, oil-cloth, or other suitable material, 0, is now pressed ontothe stone at by rolling a roller of suitable material over the oil-clothor other layer, orotherwise pressing the said sheet onto the stone, andwhich, when removed from the stone, will be provided with a perfectnegative of the writing or other matter on the lithographic stone at.The paper or other matter or material to be printed is now laid on theelastic sheet b above the matter, to be copied and pressed onto the samein appro priate manner, preferably by means of a handroller, d, coveredwith cloth, felt, or other suitable material, d. On removing the paperfrom the elastic sheet bit will be found to contain a perfectly-sharpcopy of the original writing, drawing, or other matter written on thelithographic stone or.

Suflicient inkwillbefound onthe elastic plate I) for giving a secondcopy, and if the printingink employed is of good quality even morecopies canbe taken. The stone is again provided with printing-ink, thesame transferred as before, and the copies produced on paper, as abovedescribed, and so on until a sufficient number of copies are printed.The writing, drawing, or other matter thus transferred from thelithographic stone to the elastic sheet can be reproduced with likeclearness on glass, porcelain, wood, fabric, metal, or other material onwhich printing can be effected, when the previously-prepared elasticcopying-sheet is pressed onto such said surfaces, it being immaterialwhether the same are even or bent or curved. If a zinc plate isemployed, like good results can be obtained, and if positive types areused, (2'. 6., types representing the.

positive of the negative types now employed,) and the words or othermatter represented by the same is or are transferred to the elasticplate, excellent reproductions can also be obtained. In ordinarylithography the ink must be applied in a very thin layer on the stone,or the same would be squeezed or pressed out in passing through thepress, and thus produce imperfect prints; but according to my improvedprocess a thicker layer of ink can be employed, which is' not absorbedin one operation by the elastic sheet, so that several transfers fromthe stone to the elastic plate can be carried out without reinking thesaid stone. The remaining traces of ink on the elastic sheet, which aretoo weak to give a proper impression, are removed bymeans of petroleumor other suitable equivalent. A thick layer of printing-ink can bedeposited on the stone by employing inking-rollers of the constructionas atoredescribed, and represented in Fig. 2.

Rollers made on this system will give off much thicker layer of colorand much quicker than the rollers generally used by lithographers, asthe said rollers are m uch more elastic than when made of leather orentirely of india-rubber.

hen the elastic sheet is connected to the stone in such manner that thesame revolves around a suitable hinge, it is not necessaryto remove theink remaining onthe elastic sheet after each printing by means ofpetroleum, as the sheet of elastic material will, on being again loweredonto the stone, occupy precisely the same position as before, so thatany remnant of ink remaining on the elastic plate will mix with thefresh ink on the stone a or be covered by the same.

It is from the preceding evident that my said improved apparatus can beemployed for carrying out all kinds of work pertaining to lithography,zincography, or letter press printing Without having recourse toexpensive presses.

Having now described and ascertained the nature of my said invent-ion,WhatI claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A manifold-copying apparatus comprising a stone or plate to receivethe matter to be copied, and a transfer-plate having an elasticfrontface and a backing of inelastic flexible material, substantially asdescribed.

2. In a manifold-copying apparatus, the combination, with an impressionstone or plate, of a transfer sheet or plate having an elastic frontface and inelastic flexible backinggand side rails constituting a frame,substantially as described.

3. In a manifold-copying apparatus, the combinationof the stone a withthe sheetmetal piece '10, the bearings 7a In, and the impression-platec, pivoted in said bearings, said plate having an elastic front face andan inelastic flexible backing, substantially as described.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of twosubscribing Witnesses. V

' FRANZ ALBERT CARL ZABEL.

Witnesses:

ANTHONY STEFFEN, B. R01.

